MISSING - Mr. and Mrs. Tom Schear of Geneva received a telegram from the war department stating thier son, Pfc. Robert L. Schear has been missing in action in Germany since Nov. 29. He was called to service in March, 1943, went overseas in April, landed in England and remained there until D-day when he was sent to the front lines in France. He was wounded in action at St. Lo July 11 and was sent to a hospital in England. He returned to his company Sept. 1.
Source: The Mason City Globe-Gazette, December 22, 1944 (photo included)
GENEVA SOLDIER DECLARED DEAD
Missing on Scouting Mission With Patrol
Geneva -- Mr. and Mrs. Tom Schear of Geneva received word from the war department that their son, Pfc. Robert L. Schear who was reported missing in action, Nov. 29, 1944 was presumably killed in action and was officially declared dead.
Robert was inducted into the service March 26, 1943, and was with the first foot soldiers to land on Normandy. He was wounded in action July 11, near St. Lo and went back to the front lines in September. He was awarded the purple heart and the expert infantryman's badge.
On Nov. 29, he was sent out with a 6-man patrol on a scouting mission from which none returned, in a forest near Langerwehr, Germany.
He was a member of the Geneva Methodist church, president of his high school graduation class in 1942, and president of the Epworth League. He leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Schear, 2 sisters, Mrs. E.L. Johansen of Geneva, Barbara at home, and 2 brothers, Donald at home and Dallas at Kumagaya air field in Japan.
Source: The Mason City Globe-Gazette, December 5, 1945 (photo included)
He is memorialized at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands.
Source: fieldsofhonor-database.com
Robert Louis Schear was born Aug. 12, 1924 to Thomas F. and Lourena Ione Becker Schear. He died Nov. 30, 1945 and is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands and in Lindenwood Cemetery, Geneva, IA.
Pvt. Schear served in World War II with the U.S. Army 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division He was MIA, later FOD/KIA. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.
Source: ancestry.com
